Maps

Tedx

Hi all

I'm cycling throught Germany, France and Spain in June but I cant seem to find maps that cover Spain and and Germany at about 1;100,000.

Can anybody help? Also what kind of scale do you guys use?

Thanks for any help or tips you can give for this route.

andymiller

http://www.themapshop.co.uk/europe/MapGuideEurope.htm

- have what you want by the looks of it.

100k is a good scale if you're touring a small area but you'd need a lot of maps to cover three countries. 1;250k or even 1:1,000,000 might be more manageable.

Alternatively have you thought about investing in a GPS? A Garmin Legend HCx plus European City Navigator would give you pretty detailed mapping for the whole of europe for about £200 (get the DVD from Garmin themselves).

PS for France it's worth checking out Georando Liberté - the price (25 euros or so) gives you 100k and 250k digital mapping for the whole of France.

Tedx

I was thinking of buying a GPS but have decided against it. I read a lot of people saying they find it more fun using maps and I'm trying to budget as much as poss and stay on the road a little longer

Very good advise about the scale of the map I have taken that on board and will look for something that covers a larger distance. I think I'm trying to be too accurate with it all. Maybe I should just roughly plot a route, take maps that roughly cover the route and use a compass to go the right direction and see where it takes me. After all I dont really have a schedule to stick to.

cycladelic

Get maps at about 250,000+ scale. Then, before you go, look at the Michelin website for the small lanes and try to write the best route onto your copy... below is a link. You can type in places and select 'bike' as a way of finding a good route:


http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/viamicheli ... irect=true

megilleland

I would recommend the following for Spain. I am sure that these publishers would also do France and Germany:

Geocenter Spain and Portugal 1:300 000
Michelin Spain and Portugal 1:400 000 spiral bound

Although a smaller scale than Geocenter, I think Michelin is easier to read and the relief of the country is clearer to interpret.

Michelin also do regional maps of Spain at 1:400 000 at £4.99 each, but I would buy the atlas, as for £11.99 it covers the whole Iberian peninsula. Also you can tear the relevant pages out to use. Folded maps are too bulky and awkward for handling on the move.

Some specialist map shops include:
Stanfords
Hereford Map Centre
Upton on Severn Map Shop

andymiller

Tedx wrote:

I was thinking of buying a GPS but have decided against it. I read a lot of people saying they find it more fun using maps and I'm trying to budget as much as poss and stay on the road a little longer.

Well yes, but it all depends on how many maps you were planning to buy... 100k maps to cover a tour through France, Spain and Germany would cost a small fortune.

pneumatic

megilleland wrote:

I would recommend the following for Spain. I am sure that these publishers would also do France and Germany:

Geocenter Spain and Portugal 1:300 000
Michelin Spain and Portugal 1:400 000 spiral bound

Although a smaller scale than Geocenter, I think Michelin is easier to read and the relief of the country is clearer to interpret.

Michelin also do regional maps of Spain at 1:400 000 at £4.99 each, but I would buy the atlas, as for £11.99 it covers the whole Iberian peninsula. Also you can tear the relevant pages out to use. Folded maps are too bulky and awkward for handling on the move.

Some specialist map shops include:
Stanfords
Hereford Map Centre
Upton on Severn Map Shop

+1 for the Michelin spiral bound. I've toured through France and Spain using pages torn out of these. If you buy the more compact version, you'll find that a single page fits perfectly into an Ortlieb bar bag mounted map carrier. Use a fluorescent marker to trace out your route in advance each day.